


The Princess and her Stray (on a break)

by Evelyn_fireheart



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up AU, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cats Plagg & Tikki, Fluff, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Marichat Week, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-14 06:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16487852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evelyn_fireheart/pseuds/Evelyn_fireheart
Summary: Adrien knew he was in big trouble when he realised he was in love with the beloved princess of the school, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.





	The Princess and her Stray (on a break)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of their twisting journey towards each other.

 

The woman was far ahead of him in the halls, but he could see clearly as she spun from person, greetings falling from her lips as she gifts them unrestrained smiles. Joy gleamed in her cobalt eyes, and students turned to watch her go, mouths falling open in wonder as she danced away through the crowded corridor, as graceful as a ballerina and as bright as a star.

Adrien's mouth dropped open too. He was a model so he had seen hundreds of people that were attractive, pretty or even sexy. But that woman, that was someone who had true beauty, knew it and spread it around them. That was a person whose movements spoke only of kindness and grace. 

An elbow digs into his side and Adrien hisses. Snickering meets his ears and he glares up at Nino's scrunched up face. His eyes are watering and Nino takes off his glasses to wipe them, not even breaking his laughter. Adrien intensifies his glare. Nino just continues to point shakily at Adrien through his tears. "Are you going to explain what you find so funny?"

"Uh- nope!" Nino says, clutching his stomach. Adrien glances around. They're beginning to gather incredulous stares. Seriously? Couldn't he have one school where he doesn't make a fool of himself? 

"Nino!" 

"Fine, fine." He huffs. Nino grabs his arm and tugs him to the side and out of the constant stream of students. Everyone was going somewhere for lunch and the halls were bursting with people. If only they would move out of the bloody way. Adrien finds himself imagining it, himself at that girl's side, her fair hand in his as they glide through the school. Adrien sighs in happiness. "I was just going to try to shield you for the first day, so you don't decide you'll stay here just for that."

"Shield me from what?" 

Nino laughed as if he should know already and began tugging him along to class. Adrien was very confused. What could he mean? He may not have gone to actual school before but he did understand some things. Like the cafeteria and the classes, though he had almost gotten lost this morning. So the navigating needed work, yes, but what would he need shielding from? Before long, they had reached their first class, _078 Physics_ glaring up at him from the door. Nino finally let go of his arm and leaned against the doorframe with raised brow. "You really haven't figured it out yet? Dude, I know you were home schooled for your entire life but didn't you ever go outside?"

"Nino?"

"Yeah?"

"Not helpful." Nino chuckled and nodded, giving him the smile that said he didn't mean his teasing. Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Oh man." Nino clapped him on the shoulder. Nodding a greeting to a passer-by, he opened the door. He paused, as if to think about how to word his answer properly. Adrien almost tingled in anticipation. Nino's hazel eyes bore into Adrien.

"From _her_ , Adrien. From the fallen angel that is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

 

And just like that, he had both an answer and a question.

Nino however, just shook his head and strolled into the classroom with total nonchalance. Leaving Adrien to contemplate his choices in life and just what this school could mean.

The way Nino had said her name...

 

He knew his friend. And his friend sounded like he was in love with this Marinette. On one hand, Nino had Alya, the girlfriend he so often said he was irrevocably in love with. On the other, it seemed like _everyone_ was in love with Marinette.  _An angel walking this very campus._

Just like that, his question was answered and his mind was set.

 He would stay.

Adrien smiled, and joined his best friend.

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette let out a joyous laugh and linked her arm through Chloe's. Chloe shook her head in mock annoyance, but smiled nonetheless. It was finally lunch time, the summer weather was out, and Marinette was practically _glowing_ with joy. A small, mainly vainquished part of her felt self-conscious about being so openly emotional, but it soon vanished as soon as she stepped out into the sunlight that hit the pathway to the cafeteria. Marinette shrugged off her denim jacket and spread her bare arms out like a starfish.

"You know you look utterly ridiculous like that, right?" Chloe's biting voice said to her right, where she had probably already sat down on the grass. Chloe knew better than most that _no-one_ and _nothing_ could pull her inside when the sun was buttering the grass with this much warmth. It was impossible. So Marinette just grinned wider, and shut her eyes against the sun.

It wasn't like Chloe had said anything offensive anyway, and she knew that if she had, Chloe wouldn't mean it. At least, not to her.

There was always quiet, soft love in Chloe's voice when she talked to Marinette, just as there was vice versa. Sometimes Marinette worried that there wasn't that love for anyone else in Chloe's life, that she was the only one she had who truly loved Chloe. But Chloe deserved the respect that came with not interfering in her life, so instead Marinette just gave her as much accepting and unchanging love as she could, from both her and her family.

 

"Oh I know Chloe darling" She said with a posh accent, poorly imitating her best friend, "But the sun deserves to be delighted in, don't ya think?" Marinette almost chuckled at the slightly disbelieving huff Chloe gave, but instead she turned her attention to basking in the sun's gold.

Today had been so completely draining, what with her newest creation being destroyed and her teachers not believing her. They had thought she had lied, her! She hates liars!

Marinette sighed and plopped down on the grass next to Chlow, completely disregarding the neatly set out blanket.

 

“Chloé?”

“Yeah?”

”Do you ever just wish we could be normal?”

Marinette feels her pause, and decides to let her figure out her answer without her expectant gaze. She knows she can be intimidating sometimes, so instead she lays back and stares up at the clouds.

After a moment, her friend lays down next to her, shoulders touching but enough of a gap between them to have their own space. It was a practice they had perfected over the years, and the familiarity of it was reassuring.

“Yeah I do, sometimes...” Chloé whispers, almost as if she was conspiring a deadly secret.

Marinette understood. She always did when it came to Chloé. The girl was like her sister and she knew her better than she knew herself. She knew she had to wait now, too.  

So Chloé could figure herself out first.

”Sometimes I wish that we had been born to a normal family. Sisters by both blood and law.” Marinette smiles and nodded. “I don’t even care what else really. Sometimes I dream that my mother pays more attention. Sometimes I dream I have a different mother altogether.”

Chloe sucks in a breath, and Marinette threads her fingers through Chloé’s, instinctively knowing that whatever came next would be the hardest for her to admit.

“Sometimes I wish only for your parents to be mine.” 

 

A bird flutters above them, and the darkhaired woman takes the chance to glance sideways at her friend. Her eyes are closed, hair spreading out from her ponytail all over the blanket like lazy strands of sunlight. She looks messy, uncoordinated, distressed and lost.

She looks like _Chloé_ _._ But not as the media knows her; Chloé Bourgeois. As Chloé , her childhood friend. 

 

“Me too.” Marinette breathes. She can sense that Chloé is trying not to cry, but she pushes on. She needs to hear this, no matter what. 

“My parents love you Chlo, and so do I. You know that.” She smiles again as she sees Chloé nod with absolute certainty.

”We will always be here for you.” A tear slips down the blonde’s cheek. “No matter what.”

”But?” Her fear trickles through her voice, so Marinette sits up. She rifles through her bag until she finds the box her parents gave her. Opening it up carefully, she removes the delicious treat inside and places it on the lid.

 

“No buts, Chloé. You are a Dupain-Cheng by love and by choice. We _chose_ you.” Chloé sits up, eyes open again and lined with silver. 

Then they fall on the perfect croissant being held out to her, the name written across it on curling lemon icing, and her tears begin falling like leaves in Autumn. Streaks of makeup line her face but, for once, Chloé doesn’t seem to care.

 

”No matter what.” Marinette says firmly.

”Oh.” Chloé whimpers. 

With a hug and a kiss on the forehead, the box is in her hands and Marinette is walking away.

Chloe needs space right now, so space is what she’ll get.

 

”Call me later!” She shouts as she walks backwards towards her next class. “There’s a shopping mall with our name on it!” 

Marinette winks and Chloe gives her a watery smile, before turning back to the gift she holds delicately in her hands.

 

Marinette gives her friend’s turned back a soft smile, and turns around promptly walking straight it a very firm wall. A human wall.

Oh.

She glances up with a sheepish smile, only to be graced with the sight of a blonde-haired-green-eyed Greek God.

Marinette almost whimpers.

 

She forces herself to be calm and takes a step back- willing her confidence to smooth over her nerves. 

“Hi-Hey-Uh sorry I didn’t mean to fall for- into you!” She blurts out, before bringing her hands to cover her mouth. Since when does she stutter?

The Greek God just stared down at her in bewilderment? Astonishment? And probably other words that mean totally weirded/freaked out. 

Marinette coughs. Jesus why are her cheeks so _warm_?

 

She starts to cool down and become less embarrassed _(aroused?)_ and more irritated when she realises that he _still_ hasn’t said anything to her. 

She glances to the side of him, where a male and female stand. She assumes they’re his friends and raises a brow at the guy.

But when he just stares at her as if she were a new fascinating exhibit at a museum, she looks to the female. She too looks stunned, but slowly regains her composure enough to smile at her.

Seriously, Marinette knew she was popular, but just how much of an effect did she have?

She glanced down at herself. She had worn a slightly less conservative outfit today than usual, in her sunset gold tube skirt and white ruffled strapless top, but she didn't look _that_ different. Marinette shrugs. She could even say that she had worn way more provocative outfits than this.

 

The red-haired woman steps towards her and crosses her arms. Marinette decides she likes her already just by her pure defiance.

She tilts her head towards the gob-smacked males. ”Sorry for these idiots girl, they just don’t know how to act around beautiful people. They did this when they met me too.” The woman throws her a wink and Marinette laughs. Yeah, she _definitely_ likes her.

 

Without a pause, the fierce woman shoves herself between the two significantly taller men and elbows them in the stomach. Breaking from their trance, they groan and glare at the female, one even gestures at her wildly with his middle finger.

The woman just winks at her again with a wild foxy grin and stretches out a hand. Marinette reaches out with an equally roguish grin and takes it smoothly.

”Alya Cesaire, investigative reporter.” Alya brings her hand to her mouth and kisses it, keeping eye contact with Marinette constantly.

Marinette raises a brow, but isn’t really surprised. This woman seems like the personification of the words _'deceptive vixen'_.

 _Like calls to like, I suppose._ She thinks with faint amusement. The mouths of Alya’s company fall wide open yet _again_ , but Marinette takes it in her stride.

The tigress in her doesn’t get to play often, but she’s liking the fangs this fox is showing.

The tigress smiles wickedly and glances pointedly at the boys. Alya’s eyes widen slightly before narrowing into the focused points of a predator. She nods, and an unspoken message passes between them.

 

_Let's play._

 

Marinette slowly turns their hands over so Alya’s rests on top, and returns the favour.

However, she places very warm, very _open-mouthed_  kisses up Alya’s arm. She doesn’t think the shiver that runs through Alya is particularly fake, but she doesn’t care. All she really wants to do is play.

 

At this point, the boys are drooling, near actually melting onto the floor, but the girls aren’t done.

 

Marinette sweeps gracefully into a curtesy, staring each of them in the eyes through her dark lashes before resting her gaze permanently on Alya.

”Marinette Dupain-Cheng, at your service.” She purrs, before rising to her feet. 

Alya hummed. “Boys?” 

A jumbled “yes?” fell from their lips before the women turn back to their game. 

“I’m going to go look around with Marinette here, and see if we can’t find somewhere to play.” Alya says, sounding downright sinful. Marinette bit her lip to hide her smile, and instead lets an eternally amused, devilish smirk rise onto her dainty features. 

 

“Alya?” Marinette said.

”Yes?”

”I think I like you.” she says blatantly, with a smirk that had turned people to liquid heat before. She punctuated each word with a kiss up her arm, soft and warm, but not gentle. This time, Alya only gave her a bedroom smile and winked at her, proud and alluring as the sun rising before the bowed moon. 

 

Alya places her hand under Marinette’s jaw and brought her face up to level with hers. When their faces were mere inches apart, Alya blew her a kiss.

Someone watching fainted, she didn’t know who and frankly didn’t care.

“I think I like you too.” Alya stage whispered, loud enough that everyone near heard and turned. And gasped, as they saw how close the two girls were and how promising Marinette looked as she stared up at Alya with a tilted head and glittering eyes.

 

With a devastating smile and an irritated glance towards the Greek God, Marinette links arms with her new best friend and, with an extra sway to their hips, they sashay away. 

 

 

 

Once the women-turned-predators had stalked away, at least 9 people fell to the floor with hopeless sighs.

Adrien and Nino included.

Seeing Marinette Dupain-Cheng up close had been enough to temporarily paralyse him, but with that little show her and Alya had put on? 

It was no wonder he couldn’t move or make any sounds beyond frustrated groans.

He had thought Marinette had been beautiful before, but just then had been about the sexiest thing he had ever seen. And that was just arm kisses. Arm kisses! 

Adrien found himself imagining what it’d be like if she chose to do more... and, specifically, on him.

Oh God.

Nino seemed just as bad. He didn’t even seem mildly irritated by the fact that his girlfriend's heart had just been stolen. 

He could understand why, honestly. 

“Oh man.” Nino tried to stand up but just fell back straight on the floor. A nearby girl who had collapsed tried as well, but they both ended up sliding back down the wall.

 

”So.. uhm.” Adrien desperately tries to regain the ability to talk. “I understand why you tried to shield me.”

Nino just gives him a tired nod. The others affected start going about their days and going to class (apparently Marinette attacking people viciously like this was common) but Adrien couldn’t make himself move, even when Nino managed to stand back up.

“Urm Nino?”

”Yeah man?”

”If they are now close friends or whatever and will be together all the time, how will we survive?”

Nino crashes back to the floor and covers his head with his arms, groaning.

Oh God. 

Is it too late too back out now?

 


End file.
